With the ceasefire holding in Ukraine and everyone else calming down about the nation’s civil war, the Obama Administration has announced intentions to send a large new shipment of “non-lethal” military aid, including armored vehicles, to the Ukrainian military for the war.
The shipments will include armored and unarmored vehicles, along with small surveillance drones, which the White House said was proof that they are trying to “de-escalate” the situation by not sending weaponry.
They also announced a new round of financial sanctions on leader sof the eastern Ukrainian rebels, as well as the Russian National Commerce Bank, which they complained is doing business in Crimea.
Russian officials responded to the sanctions, saying the US move was entirely “unexplainable.” Russia, along with Germany and France, led the effort to negotiate the current ceasefire.
You say that my (US) Government is complaining that "the Russian National Commerce Bank is doing business in Crimea." Are you aware that Crimea has for the past year been a part of Russia, after a Crimean referendum in which over 80% of Crimeans voted to become a part of Russia? Why shouldn't the Russian National Commerce Bank be doing business in Russia?
The A-holes in the current US government really, really hate to be sidelined by "lesser" governments…and make no mistake, according to them, every government in the world is a "lesser" government.
The problem is that no one beleives that Putin will keep his word. The BBC reported the other day that the annexation of Crimea was planned long in advance, in other words at a time when Putin was swearing high and holy that he had no intention of annexing it. When Crimea was annexed, instead of it being joined to the Southern Federal District, just accross the Kerch Strait, a new Federal District was created for it, in which Crimea is the only federal subject (in American terms, a state with only one county!). That suggests that Putin intends to create further federal subjects in the area near Crimea and that can only be done by grabbing more Ukrainian territory. And now, Ramzan Kadyrov, one of Putin's nastiest henchmen, suddenly pops up in the middle of the Nemtsov killing, which has the effect of pointing the accusing finger stratght at Putin. It thus looks very like the leopard is not changing his spots. Also, since Putin is so obviously copying Israel's dishonest tactics, you need to ask what Israel would do in such circumstances. They keep stealing Palestinian land, little by little. When they get too brazen and there's an international outcry, they stop, but don't give back the land they've stolen. Then, when the hue and cry dies down, they just start up where they left off. Thus, Putin, having stalled immediate American plans to arm Ukraine, will claim that the dastardly Ukrainians have violated the ceasefire and will start trying to conquer more Ukrainian land. Sooner or later, he will have to be taken out by international force.
You made the mistake of starting with 'the BBC reported' and your worried that Putin won't keep his word? You talk right out of the CIA playbook.
This is all war material, it's all lethal aid.
send in hillary & nulands as lethal AIDS
It should be apparent now that this is the "Don Meredith moment" for Ukraine. You might remember when the football game no longer could finish any other way, Meredith would croon, "turn out the lights, the party's over". Well that is where we are. Ukraine has no fight left In it – the neocons do but Ukraine does not. But we are also at the point where the bartender is tabulating a big check for the wild, stupid party. Europe is looking at us, and there is no sense asking the Israelis to dig deep, America is expected to pay. Maybe we won't – maybe we will look at Ukraine and just say – "Sucker!"
We have reached that low point in honor and dis-integrity.